


for what it's worth it was worth all the while

by bettycooopers



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Angst, F/M, it's the last last day of school and barchie is sad, post 502
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-05
Updated: 2021-02-05
Packaged: 2021-03-16 19:41:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,030
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29212842
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bettycooopers/pseuds/bettycooopers
Summary: Betty slips into the back door of the Andrews house the way she has a thousand times before, but this morning it feels different...despite the fact that it still, somehow, feels like the most natural thing in the world.
Relationships: Archie Andrews/Betty Cooper
Comments: 9
Kudos: 72





	for what it's worth it was worth all the while

**Author's Note:**

> hi, i am working on something chaotic for you all...but in the meantime here is a little bit of sad high school barchie to keep you company before the time jump. 
> 
> as per ushe, all the thank yous to [becca](https://archiveofourown.org/users/packedyoursaturday), who: 1. forced me to write this, 2. told me to post it, and 3. fixed it so it wasn't gross. gestures vaguely to future blocking.

Betty slips into the back door of the Andrews house the way she has a thousand times before, but this morning it feels different. Heavier, if that’s possible. She’s not sure what’s eating at her more, the fact that she hasn’t done this since the whole _pretending_ fiasco, or the fact that it still, somehow, feels like the most natural thing in the world.

She smiles softly at Mary, who’s stationed at the counter wrapped in a soft red robe, stirring milk into her coffee. “Morning, Mrs. Andrews,” she says, stifling a fake yawn. 

“Betty,” Mary chastises, “you know it’s Mary.” Betty nods, smiling as Mary pulls down another mug. “Coffee?”

“No thanks,” Betty shakes her head. “Is Archie up?”

“I don’t think so, not yet,” Mary laughs, shaking her head. “You can go check, if you want. I’m sure he’ll be happy to see you – he said you’ve been busy.” Betty flinches, doing her best to hide it with a stretch.

“Just...end of the year things,” Betty nods, looking over towards the front hall, the staircase. “Getting ready for school, and all that.”

“Oh, I’m sure,” Mary slides into a seat at the island, sipping from her mug slowly. “Are you excited for New Haven?”

“I am,” Betty takes a step towards the stairs, looking over her shoulder. It isn’t that she minds talking to Mary Andrews – though, to be fair, it isn’t as comfortable as it had been when she’d used to do this with Fred – but she’s got thoughts buzzing just below the surface, and none of them have to do with Archie’s _mother._ “Nervous, though. We’ve...I’ve only ever lived in Riverdale, so,” Betty shrugs. “I don’t know what to expect.”

“You’re going to love it,” Mary smiles, and Betty nods, her lips pressed together. “Go ahead, I’m sure if he’s not up but he won’t mind if you wake him.”

Betty offers a, “Thanks, Mrs. Andrews,” over her shoulder as she bolts towards the staircase.

She slips into his room without knocking, sucking in a breath and feeling herself smile when her eyes fall on him, face down in his bed with the comforter haphazardly bunched around his legs. She bites on the inside of her cheek, making her way over to the bed and stooping down next to it, pressing her hand gently to his shoulder. She can do this the way she’s done it a million times before. It doesn’t have to be weird. “Arch,” her voice is soft. “Arch, wake up.”

“No,” Archie grumbles. She can see him pressing his face further into his pillows.

“Archie,” she laughs, shoving at his shoulder a bit harder. “Come on, up.”

“No,” he sighs, rolling over, his eyes still closed. “Still tired,” he says, his voice lost in sleep, “not time.”

“It’s _time,”_ she rolls her eyes and lets herself look at his face. He frowns, his eyes still shut. His face is unshaven and his eyes have bags underneath them, but otherwise, he just looks like sweet, sleepy Archie, the one she’s been waking up like this on the last day of school since they were in second grade. “It’s the last day, Arch...you’ve got to get up.” 

Archie yawns, blinking his eyes open and squinting up at her. “You’re here,” he says, his voice thick with sleep. He looks confused.

“Yeah,” Betty’s about to laugh at him because _of course she’s here,_ it’s the last day of school...but then she realizes he didn’t think she’d show up this year at all. She swallows and lets out a sigh. “Of course I’m here. It’s the last day of school.”

“I know,” he says, lifting his head up a bit. “I…,” he shrugs. “Where’s Jughead?”

She bites down on her lower lip, avoiding his gaze. “Still asleep.” 

Archie nods. “Well, now I’m not.”

Betty sighs, blinking up at him as she taps her fingers against his pillow. “I wasn’t going to,” she swallows, shaking her head. “I wasn’t going to _not_ do our tradition, Arch. Not when it’s the last time.” Archie shuts his eyes and Betty feels hers burning. “I don’t have to stay, though.”

“Betty,” Archie sighs. He looks like he’s lost in thought for a long moment and then he slides over in the bed, rolling onto his side and raising his brow at her. 

Betty doesn’t think, she just climbs into the bed and shuts her eyes, tucking her head under Archie’s chin and sighing, ignoring the way her skin feels tingly where it’s pressed to his. His arm moves around her waist and his fingers fiddle with the hem of her shirt in a nervous kind of way she recognizes. She takes a deep breath and presses her hand lightly against his hip. 

“I miss you,” he whispers, and she feels her throat tighten. “Not having a best friend is shitty.”

“You have a best friend,” Betty feels her voice give out in the middle of the word _have,_ but she ignores it. “I’m right here, Arch.”

Archie laughs, but it has no humor to it. She shakes her head. “You’re right here, but,” he leans his face down into her hair, “it’s not like you’re staying.”

“Archie.”

“What?” He taps his fingers gently against her back, sighing. “I’m not wrong.”

“You’re still my best friend,” Betty breathes, and she knows it’s not entirely true. She can’t describe the ways that it’s a lie, really, but it’s not totally the truth, either. “I’m here if you need me.”

Archie squeezes her, shaking his head. He’s quiet for a long moment and she feels herself getting nervous when he’s not talking. “It’s the last time, anyway,” he says, his voice low, after a long time. “We don’t have to worry about it anymore.”

Betty feels her eyes burning and she lets herself wrap her arms around him. He tenses a little under her touch and she sucks in a hard breath before she speaks. “It’s not something to _worry_ about. You’re _still_ my best friend, Arch.”

Archie nods. “You’re still my best friend, too, Betts,” he breathes. 

It’s the lie in his voice that makes her tears fall.

**Author's Note:**

> you can follow me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/bettycooopers) or [tumblr](https://bettycooopers.tumblr.com) if you feel like watching me break down in real time!


End file.
